Chrysal: Or, The Adventures of a Guinea: By An Adept; A New Edition, To Which Is Now Prefixed A Sketch Of The Author's Life Embellished With Plates

London: Printed For Hector M'Lean, 1821. New Edition. leather_bound. Bound in contemporary brown full diced calf, boards decoratively ruled in gilt, spines ruled, tooled and lettered in gilt, marbled edges, plain blue endleaves. Near fine. 3 Vols. viii, 319; [iv], 321; [iv], 326 pages. 21.5 x 13.5 cm. 15 hand-colored plates engraved by Maddocks, E. F. Burney, and W. Read. The first edition was published anonymously in 1760 and a runaway success. The novel is set roughly during the period of the Seven Years' War (1757-63). Irish by birth, descended from a branch of the Johnstone's of Annandale, Dumfriesshire, this was his chief work. The book pretended (truncated) to reveal political secrets, and to expose the profligacy of well-known public characters. It soon attracted attention as "the best scandalous chronicle of the day." [see: DNB]. ALLIBONE Vol.I, p.985. "Sir Walter Scott said, `We may safely rate Charles Johnstone as a prose Juvenal." LOWNDES 477. "A masterly but caustic satire." SABIN 36391. Bookplate front cover pastedowns. Wide text margins, interior contents bright and clean. (Inventory #: 24289)